New sentences recommended in 2009 Kansas City killings

A Jackson County jury has recommended 30-year sentences for a 23-year-old man convicted in 2011 of the robbery and murders of two young men in central Kansas City.

Eria Doss previously had been sentenced to multiple life terms in the April 2009 deaths of Andrew Eli and Justin Budreau inside an apartment at 59th Street and Tracy Avenue.

A Missouri appeals court ruled last year, however, that a new jury should recommend new sentences because his original trial jury heard improper evidence about his juvenile records.

One exhibit, a juvenile court record, argued that Doss had engaged in conduct that would have constituted felony second-degree burglary and misdemeanor stealing and possession of a controlled substance if committed by an adult.

The second juvenile record exhibit argued that Doss had accumulated 40 incident reports, including violations for assault, failure to comply, threatening peers and staff, inappropriate language, disruptive behavior and disrespect for staff at a detention center.

After viewing that evidence, the original jury recommended four life sentences and an additional 200 years of prison time.

After hearing evidence earlier this week, Doss’ new jury on Wednesday recommended 30 years each on two convictions of second-degree murder, 10 years for a first-degree robbery conviction and three years on three counts of armed criminal action.

Eli, 23, and Budreau, 24, were asleep in Eli’s apartment when intruders burst in, robbed them and shot each in the back of the head. Budreau, a friend of Eli from their days at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, was visiting from out of town.

Prosecutors will ask that all of Doss’ sentences be served consecutively, a spokesman for the Jackson County prosecutor’s office said Thursday. His sentencing hearing was set for Sept. 26.

Co-defendant Michael Gunn was sentenced in December 2010 to 50 years in prison. Larry Marshall received a 16-year prison term after pleading guilty.

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 3:52 PM with the headline "New sentences recommended in 2009 Kansas City killings."